Ann Arbor School Board Members Take Big Money From Unions To Campaign But Vote Against Contracting With Unionized Company For HVAC
By Chris Savage
On December 14, the Ann Arbor Board of Education members approved a new HVAC Journeyman contract with Flint-based D.M. Burr, Inc. D.M. Burr's bid was $66,727 less than the bid of Johnson Controls, the next lowest bidder…
Ann Arbor School Officials First Deny Having Actual Enrollment Numbers—After Multiple FOIAs & 72 Days Officials Relinquish Numbers
by P.D. Lesko
On December 13, 2011, A2Politico posted a piece titled, "30? 40? 50? Ann Arbor Officials Have No Idea Exactly How Many Kids Are In District Classrooms." For several days, it was among the top 5 most clicked headlines in the…
Snyder Signs Bill Ending Same-Sex Benefits for Public Employees — Strips More Children of Health Care
by P.D. Lesko
Michigan Republicans sent House Bill 4770 and House Bill 4771 to Governor Rick Snyder and on Thursday December 22, 2011 he signed the bills into law. The bills prohibit public employers from including domestic partner…
Reader’s Choose The 2011 Whopper of the Year Award
It's time for readers to help choose the A2Politico.com Whopper of the Year Award winner. A2Politico.com gave the 2010 Whopper of the Year to former City Administrator Roger Fraser. For 24 months, Fraser fibbed to Ann Arbor residents…
Look Out Boys! The Über Spinster Lets Down Her Hair
by P.D. Lesko
I read it, and I laughed. Out loud. I read it again, and laughed even more. I kept reading. Sometimes, I get bored and quit in the middle. Other times, reading this stuff is like taking flax seed oil. It's good for me, so I…
Republicans in the Michigan Legislature Wildly Exaggerating Savings From Same-Sex Benefits Cuts
by P.D. Lesko
Michigan Republicans want to see House Bill 4770 and House Bill 4771 signed ito law by Governor Rick Snyder. The bills would prohibit public employers from including domestic partner benefits in their public employee…
A Local Political Machine Gets Sabotaged From Within — Again
by P.D. Lesko
How many direct hits from within can the Hieftje-Hive-Mind-Collective Cube withstand?
In summer 2009, the Cube took its first hit from within: Ann Arbor residents woke up to a front page piece in the Ann Arbor News that was…
The Parent Trap: Trippin’ With Six — Travel With Kids
by Betsy McMillin
This article is my Holiday gift to you. No advice, no deep thoughts, just the gift of a thought: "Thank God I don't have to travel with six kids."
Many of you will be traveling soon, by car, plane, train. And yes, we all…
Savaged: Mainstream Media’s Love (Free Content) Hate (Scooped Again!) Relationship With Citizen Journalists
By Chris Savage
By some estimates, there are close to two hundred million blogs in the world, about half of which are in the United States. This number is growing each year. At the same time, the size and number of what are considered…
30? 40? 50? — Ann Arbor School Officials Have No Idea Exactly How Many Kids Are In District Classrooms
by P.D. Lesko
Class size: one time when size does matter. Research on the success of K-12 students has concluded definitively that class sizes impact the performance of all students. Kids learn better in small classes. According to…
